Superman’s real SUPERPOWER
Christopher Reeve’s eldest son on the breakthrough spinal treatment funded by the foundation run in memory of his actor father
IT’S NOT just dementia, over the years Good Health has reported on a whole range of breakthroughs in neurological medicine. In this report from 2018 we examine epidural stimulation, a technique that helps ‘reconnect’ nerve cells to the brain.
November 13, 2018
SNOWBOARDER Jered Chinnock, 29, made world headlines two months ago when he took his first steps in five years after being paralysed from the waist down in a snowmobile accident.
The young American, who might once have been expected to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, walked more than 100 metres with the aid of a wheeled walking frame.
Jered had undergone a pioneering treatment called epidural stimulation, where electrodes are surgically attached to the lower part of the spinal cord to ‘reconnect’ nerve cells to his brain.
He also underwent intense rehabilitation exercise to reactivate his nerves and muscles. As a result, he can now, by thinking about moving, actually do so when he is wearing the implant.
Thousands of miles away, in Sweden, one man was taking particular interest in the news.
Matthew Reeve is the eldest son of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who, at the age of 42, was left paralysed from the neck down after a horse-riding accident in 1995. Matthew says his father, who died in 2004, would have been ‘ecstatic’ about the latest breakthrough.
‘When he was injured, he was told: “This is your wheelchair. Get used to it. You will not recover any mobility.” Nobody who is injured today should be told that because it’s not true,’ says Matthew emphatically.
‘Back then, a cure for spinal injury wasn’t thought to be a possibility, but my father had great hope and worked relentlessly to raise money for research,’ says Matthew. ‘He would say: “We want to find a cure: let’s get it done”.’
The actor’s efforts led to what became the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, dedicated to funding research into curing spinal cord injury and improving the quality of life of people living with paralysis.
In fact, the centre where Jered received his treatment, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, is one of three where research into spinal cord injury and the seminal work on epidural stimulation has been part-funded by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
Matthew, along with his two siblings, works part-time for the Foundation.
‘A couple of years ago we made an announcement about our first four guys who were able to stand up,’ says Matthew, now 38, a screenwriter and vice-chairman of the Foundation. ‘This year, other patients have been able to take steps, which is a truly remarkable watershed moment.
‘It’s difficult for me not to get emotional. One of the earliest guys to receive epidural stimulation stood up to get married.’
MATTHEW, speaking exclusively to the Mail from Stockholm, where he lives with his partner and their two year-old daughter, adds: ‘I believe it is only a matter of years before innovative, technology-based therapies like epidural stimulation will become standard practice in the treatment and recovery from spinal cord injuries — and that patients like my father will walk again.’
Matthew was 15 and living in London with his mother, Christopher’s former long-term partner Gae Exton, and his younger sister Alexandra when Dana, Christopher’s wife, rang to tell them about the accident.
‘We knew his life was in the balance. His level of injury was one of the most severe, at C1 and C2, the highest two vertebrae. He was a quadriplegic, had to be ventilated and needed 24-hour care.’
After the accident, he also endured many potentially lifethreatening health problems.
‘One drug sent him into anaphylactic shock. He flatlined three or four times,’ says Matthew. He also had attacks of autonomic dysreflexia, where some stimulus below the level of injury, such as bladder or bowel issues, or even tight clothing, causes the autonomic nervous system to become overactive and blood pressure shoots up.
‘My father had a brief moment of depression at first, taking it hard because he was such an active guy,’ recalls Matthew.
‘Yet he chose to embrace what had happened, to put a face to the research and a community that didn’t really have a public voice. If he was feeling down, he got through it as quickly as possible. He wanted to continue to be there as a husband and father. My youngest brother Will was three at the time of the accident and Dad taught him to ride a bike just by giving him instructions.’
The Foundation has invested nearly €130 million in research over the years, and epidural stimulation is the chief focus.
Matthew explains: ‘For now we will continue to fund electrical stimulation, as the results are truly astonishing. We’re learning that the spinal cord is not just a simple “telephone wire” that carries signals from the brain to the body but is smart and capable of learning — or relearning.’
In 2004, ten days after Christopher’s death, his vision for a chain of rehabilitation centres using the latest scientific developments came to fruition with the establishment of the NeuroRecovery Network (NRN).
The organisation is also now linked to a rehab centre at Crawley, near Gatwick Airport.
‘When someone sustains a spinal cord injury, it’s not just the disability that’s the problem,’ says Matthew.
‘There’s a host of secondary complications: from loss of bladder and bowel control and body temperature regulation to blood pressure issues, pressure sores and sexual dysfunction.’
TODAY, 14 years after his father’s death from sepsis, following an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, Matthew says: ‘It’s an honour to continue the work my father began. He remained a magnetic, larger-than-life figure. ‘He was charming and funny and socially active. He also never took a day off fighting for more research dollars. People said he really was Superman but he emphasised that the ability to endure, the power to love, everyone has that.’
TODAY’S ADVICE: The Neurokinex programme for spinal cord injuries offers neurological rehabilitation services — including a programme for children — based on the latest scientific research. The charity, affiliated to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which has also just joined forces with Spinal Injuries Ireland in an effort to improve quality of life for many.